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Cliopatria

  • Feb 20, 2008

    Byzance Apres Byzance

    by Cliopatria

    The Economist has an article on quasi-official modern Russian uses of Byzantium that caught my attention. The article describes the efforts of certain reputed Putin loyalists to marshal Byzantine history in support of the Kremlin, which is hardly the first time a head of state in Russia and his hangers-on have drawn on the legacy of the empire to bolster their own stature. Of course, the Putin support
  • Feb 19, 2008

    Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts

    by Cliopatria

    Though daily life in the Middle Ages can seem at first like a distant and inaccessible historical realm, this impressive collection of 11,000 manuscript illuminations proves otherwise. These miniatures, initials, and border decorations are drawn from close to 400 manuscripts, primarily late medieval manuscripts from France and the Low Countries dating from the 8th through 16th centuries.

    “Highlights” is a good place to begin for users unfamiliar with these rich sources. Here, themes in the

  • Feb 19, 2008

    The Year's Strangest Argument

    by Cliopatria

    Today's Washington Post has an article exploring the dilemmas of black politicians who endorsed Hillary Clinton. Beyond the fact that their constituents have overwhelmingly supported another candidate, you'd think the endorsers would have some qualms about affiliating with a campaign that played the race card in South Carolina and whose chief Hispanic strategist informed the
  • Feb 18, 2008

    Reforming the Democratic System?

    by Cliopatria

    As Ralph mentioned in yesterday's roundup, Princeton's Sean Wilentz (who has published a number of pieces aggressively promoting Hillary Clinton's candidacy) and Julian Zelizer had an interesting op-ed in yesterday's Washington Post on the shortcomings of the Democrats' primary process.

    Some of the Wilentz/Zelizer recommendations are uncontroversial—the parties"grabbing power